The 2025 Pumpkin Spice RPG Contest - Cast Your Vote!

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

But I do see it’s just a bunch of people having fun. Although the Iron DM seems more arduous.

Iron DM is fun in the same way a tough mudder is fun, including the "what idiot talked me into doing this? Oh, I'm that idiot" self-talk halfway through.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

I've wondered that myself. Despite my best efforts, participation has always been low. The most entries we've ever seen was in 2023, and it was still fewer than a dozen. The prizes are legit--real people do actually win real stuff--so maybe that's why people assume only "serious" entries should apply?

Voting turnout is also pretty low, too, and I can't figure out why. No entry in the three-year history of this contest has ever gotten more than 9 votes. Voting has always been open to anyone with an EN World account, and people have always been encouraged to vote for whatever they like best, using any reasons they choose. There's no wrong way to do it, but alas.

Ah well. I just keep on doing what I do: every autumn, when Starbucks brings back its delicious seasonal coffee flavors, I will roll out my pumpkin-themed Halloween RPG writing contest. It might never be a huge sensation, but I enjoy doing it. I love seeing how creative folks can be with RPGs, and it gives me something to look forward to at summer's end.


An interesting proposition...shifting from Halloween to Christmas...hmm...

I wasn't proposing a shift... I meant doubling up: a second contest. Maybe not two a year always (or maybe it gets so popular you go with three or four!).

Or just have one and make it a Christmas thing. Either/or... the next time you do this, focus on the low barrier to entry. You'll get more participants and more voters I'll bet. I see that @Morrus kicked in a nice prize for you this year. Maybe he'll pin your announcement for your new format for you, or find some other way to get eyes on your prize. I dunno. This is a cool idea you've got here. Too cool to be rewarded with this low turnout.

 

[CleverNickName]

We are now inside the 2-week window for voting. Which is what I had intended all along when I set up the poll, before I forgot how to count. :-/

 

[CleverNickName]

Just a quick update. @Gradine holds on to 1st place, but there are only two points between all of the Top Three members.

As of 8:30 a.m. PST:

Leaderboard:

1. "Autumn Bastion Facilities" by Gradine - 8 votes
2. "Smashing Pumpkin Spice" by Snarf Zagyg - 7 votes
3. "Arsenal of the Pumpkin King" by Steampunkette - 6 votes
4. "Rubiaceae, the Pumpkin Spice Dragon" by CleverNickName - 4 votes
5. "Pumpkin Patch and Espresso Fueled Pumpkin Head" by Vael - 3 votes
6. "Pumpkin Spice Latte" by jmarkdr2 - 3 votes
7. "The Byorn's Annual Gourdgoyle Hunt" by GMMichael - 3 votes
8. "Kukurbo, the Harvest King" by Whizbang Dustyboots - 2 votes
9. "Be Careful What You Wish For" by RealAlHazred - 2 votes

Games Represented:
5E D&D: 4 entries, 21 total votes among them
Call of Cthulhu: 1 entry, 2 votes
Daggerheart: 1 entry, 3 votes
Modos 2: 1 entry, 3 votes
Shadowdark: 1 entry, 2 votes
Ten Candles: 1 entry, with 7 total votes

Types of Entries
Adventures: 3 entries, with 12 votes among them
Items: 2 entries, with 9 votes among them
Monsters/NPCs: 6 entries, with 20 votes among them
Settings/Locations: 3 entries*, with 15 votes among them
*I was reminded that the Legendary Dragon has regional effects and a described lair, which technically count as a "location or setting."

Votes:
38 votes have been cast by EN World members.

So if one were so inclined, they could draw some sketchy, dubious conclusions from this info:

• The most popular entry so far: "Autumn Bastion Facilities" by @Gradine (8 votes), followed by "Smashing Pumpkin Spice" by @Snarf Zagyg (7 votes).
• The most popular game system: 5th Edition D&D (21 votes), followed by Ten Candles (7 votes).
• The most popular entry type: Monsters/NPCs (20 votes), followed by Settings/Locations (15 votes).

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on some pumpkin spice and spike that stuff into all my cookings. That shizznit is going to taste so seasonal. I’m about to head over to all the Wegmans right now to buy all their pumpkin spice, and get me some of their pumpkin spice baked goods, too, so I can have something to tide me over while I drive home. When I get some guests to come over for the Thanksgiving holiday it’s gonna be like, BLAMMO! Check out my pumpkin spiced turkey, jerkfaces. Guess what season it is — frakkin' fall. There’s a nip in the air and my house is full of flavor town, pumpkin spice approved, donkey sauce discarded.

I may even throw some of that pumpkin spice into my coffee, all haphazard like a crisp October breeze just blew through and blew it in like a fresh kilo of my other favorite seasonal treat- Bolivian spice. Then I’m going to get to work on making some pumpkin spiced muffins all for myself. People are going to be like, “Aren’t those muffins too spicy? Do you really think you can eat all 6 dozen of those muffins” And I’m just going shove another four of those tasty muffins into my pie-hole and quietly reply, “It’s autumn, jerkfaces. You’re either ready to reap this freaky-azzed harvest or you’re not.”

Carving orange pumpkins sounds like a pretty fitting way to ring in the season. You know what else does? Putting pumpkin innards mixed with all them holiday spices in everything I own. We’re not just talking the food, either. I’m going to start dusting myself with pumpkin spice. That’s right- I’m gonna start smelling like Linus’s pumpkin patch- axe me what body spray I got to make all the boys in the yard drink from my pumpkin spiced milkshake.

Well, this just got real, didn’t it? Peanuts holiday specials and pumpkin spice have one very important commonality: they’re both extremely frakkin' important for this holiday season.

The next thing I’m going to do is carve one of the bigger pumpkins into a perfect replica of the Mayflower as a shout-out to our Pilgrim forefathers. Then I’m going to do lines of pumpkin spice off its hull with a rolled-up $100. Why? Because it’s not summer, it’s not winter, and it’s not spring. Grab a calendar and pull your friggin' heads out of your azzes; it’s the season of spice, and I will speak to the manager if the barista skimps on the pumpkin spice. Leaves change color, and I has to get my cornucopia of spices in my lattes.

Have you ever been in an Italian deli with salamis hanging from their ceiling? Well then you’re going to abso-friggin'-lutely love my house this fall. Just look where you’re walking or you’ll get KO’d by a hanging pumpkin, or stumble over a jack-o-lantern, or overwhelmed by the sweet odor of pumpkin spice that permeates my house like it’s a Starbucks employee on the pumpkin spice latte conveyor of joy. Consider yourself warned.

Welcome to Pumpkin Spice Season, @CleverNickName

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on some pumpkin spice and spike that stuff into all my cookings. That shizznit is going to taste so seasonal. I’m about to head over to all the Wegmans right now to buy all their pumpkin spice, and get me some of their pumpkin spice baked goods, too, so I can have something to tide me over while I drive home. When I get some guests to come over for the Thanksgiving holiday it’s gonna be like, BLAMMO! Check out my pumpkin spiced turkey, jerkfaces. Guess what season it is — frakkin' fall. There’s a nip in the air and my house is full of flavor town, pumpkin spice approved, donkey sauce discarded.

I may even throw some of that pumpkin spice into my coffee, all haphazard like a crisp October breeze just blew through and blew it in like a fresh kilo of my other favorite seasonal treat- Bolivian spice. Then I’m going to get to work on making some pumpkin spiced muffins all for myself. People are going to be like, “Aren’t those muffins too spicy? Do you really think you can eat all 6 dozen of those muffins” And I’m just going shove another four of those tasty muffins into my pie-hole and quietly reply, “It’s autumn, jerkfaces. You’re either ready to reap this freaky-azzed harvest or you’re not.”

Carving orange pumpkins sounds like a pretty fitting way to ring in the season. You know what else does? Putting pumpkin innards mixed with all them holiday spices in everything I own. We’re not just talking the food, either. I’m going to start dusting myself with pumpkin spice. That’s right- I’m gonna start smelling like Linus’s pumpkin patch- axe me what body spray I got to make all the boys in the yard drink from my pumpkin spiced milkshake.

Well, this just got real, didn’t it? Peanuts holiday specials and pumpkin spice have one very important commonality: they’re both extremely frakkin' important for this holiday season.

The next thing I’m going to do is carve one of the bigger pumpkins into a perfect replica of the Mayflower as a shout-out to our Pilgrim forefathers. Then I’m going to do lines of pumpkin spice off its hull with a rolled-up $100. Why? Because it’s not summer, it’s not winter, and it’s not spring. Grab a calendar and pull your friggin' heads out of your azzes; it’s the season of spice, and I will speak to the manager if the barista skimps on the pumpkin spice. Leaves change color, and I has to get my cornucopia of spices in my lattes.

Have you ever been in an Italian deli with salamis hanging from their ceiling? Well then you’re going to abso-friggin'-lutely love my house this fall. Just look where you’re walking or you’ll get KO’d by a hanging pumpkin, or stumble over a jack-o-lantern, or overwhelmed by the sweet odor of pumpkin spice that permeates my house like it’s a Starbucks employee on the pumpkin spice latte conveyor of joy. Consider yourself warned.

Welcome to Pumpkin Spice Season, @CleverNickName

I'm going to preface this by saying that I am not a fussy eater. I can't think of a 'regional cuisine' I don't enjoy. Heavy on the veg (Vietnamese I think is my current #1), heavy on the meat (a little less of this to be honest... although I do enjoy an annual-ish visit to a rib festival), heavy on the heat (Guntur chilies are a recent discovery)... whatever, I'll give it a whirl at least once.

Knowing your limits is important though... mine is licorice. Anise, fennel... all that stuff. It tastes like someone worked the south forty/a chain gang all day then immediately stuffed their pants into my mouth. A good friend of mine had a Dutch girlfriend for many years. She was into that double/triple salted licorice. I'm sure it has a special name in the Netherlands, deeply tied to its cultural roots, a beloved treat of all Dutch children. But remember that this is the home of Black Peter. This stuff is hot garbage. My buddy called it Kräppenkandy. Far more accurate a name than the gentlefolk of the Netherlands give it no doubt.

In any case... licorice is the only flavour I can't deal with.

Second behind that though, in the category of 'barely tolerable', is nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, etc. - the Pumpkin Spices. I mean... I'll eat it. But I don't get it. It tastes like dust... but with an aftertaste of I tried to burn your mouth but failed like Evel Knievel at the Snake River Canyon.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Knowing your limits is important though... mine is licorice. Anise, fennel... all that stuff. It tastes like someone worked the south forty/a chain gang all day then immediately stuffed their pants into my mouth. A good friend of mine had a Dutch girlfriend for many years. She was into that double/triple salted licorice. I'm sure it has a special name in the Netherlands, deeply tied to its cultural roots, a beloved treat of all Dutch children. But remember that this is the home of Black Peter. This stuff is hot garbage. My buddy called it Kräppenkandy. Far more accurate a name than the gentlefolk of the Netherlands give it no doubt.

In any case... licorice is the only flavour I can't deal with.

Scandinavian salted licorice (salmiak, salmiakki in most places, but IIRC drop in the Netherlands) is one of life's most awesome treats. It's not just the salt, it's the ammonium.

I first encountered it when I spent some time in Iceland, and over time while I enjoy the confectionary varieties (Lakrids by Bulow, for example) ... there is nothing that compares to the most hardcore salmiak. Once you start on them, you cannot stop.

I mean ... you do have to stop, I guess. The extra strong does contain a fair amount of ammonium chloride, so ... don't be stupid.

Pairs nicely with gin. ....then again, most things do.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Scandinavian salted licorice (salmiak, salmiakki in most places, but IIRC drop in the Netherlands) is one of life's most awesome treats. It's not just the salt, it's the ammonium.

I first encountered it when I spent some time in Iceland, and over time while I enjoy the confectionary varieties (Lakrids by Bulow, for example) ... there is nothing that compares to the most hardcore salmiak. Once you start on them, you cannot stop.

I mean ... you do have to stop, I guess. The extra strong does contain a fair amount of ammonium chloride, so ... don't be stupid.

Pairs nicely with gin. ....then again, most things do.

Or the glycyrrhizin, apparently. I mean, I get it. I know a few folks who love the taste of licorice/liquorice/whatever. I'm sure there's a physiological reason why some of us gag at the taste and others love it. It is kind of weird actually... I really do enjoy some flavours that repel a lot of people.

I had to go look up the connection between ammonium chloride and licorice. Wowza to whoever had that idea germinate within them. That's right up there with 'look at what that chicken just dropped out of its butt... how about I pop that into my mouth?'.

I'll meet you in the middle on the gin though. I love me a well-prepared Tom Collins.

And Iceland is a nice name drop... on my bucket list.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Or the glycyrrhizin, apparently. I mean, I get it. I know a few folks who love the taste of licorice/liquorice/whatever. I'm sure there's a physiological reason why some of us gag at the taste and others love it. It is kind of weird actually... I really do enjoy some flavours that repel a lot of people.

I had to go look up the connection between ammonium chloride and licorice. Wowza to whoever had that idea germinate within them. That's right up there with 'look at what that chicken just dropped out of its butt... how about I pop that into my mouth?'.

I'll meet you in the middle on the gin though. I love me a well-prepared Tom Collins.

And Iceland is a nice name drop... on my bucket list.

Iceland is amazing- highly recommend. They've really built it up as a hub for people flying to/from Europe, and you can usually get amazing fares if you look around. The people are incredibly friendly, and most speak English (certainly better than I speak Icelandic).

If you go, a few notes-
A. If you're going during the summer, make sure your hotel or AirBnB has blackout windows. Mine did, and I was SO GRATEFUL.
B. I'd recommend renting a car for at least one day of your stay and driving the "little ring road" (the Golden Circle). It is amazing and can be done as a full daytrip. When you're doing it, make sure to go see the Reynisfjara on the South Coast (a small extension a short distance from Vik). One of the highlights of my travels ... when I go back, I plan on doing the full ring road, but that's a multi-day experience.
C. Reykjavik is cool. There is a ... pen** museum. If you read that and think, "I have to go!" then you are the exactly the person who needs to go.

 

[CleverNickName]

Inspiration for next year's contest?

I see we're still sitting at 38 total votes. Y'all doing okay out there?